3. Location It has 6 neighbours: Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
4. Main facts Full name Republic of South Sudan Capital Juba (population 372,000) Area 619,745 km 2 Population 8,260,000 (as of 2011) Official language English Currency South Sudanese pound Time zone +3 GMT Telephone code +211 Internet domain .ss
5. Key events in recent history The Second Sudanese Civil War lasted from 1983 to 2005. It left 2 million people dead. On 9 th July 2005 South Sudan gained autonomy. The Southern Sudanese independence referendum took place from from 9 th to 15 th Janury 2011. The results were published on 7 th January 2011. 98.83% voted for independence. South Sudan became an independent country on 9 th July 2011. On 14 th July 2011 it became the 193 rd member of the United Nations.
6. Economy Very weak and unstable economy. Most people ere employed in agriculture. However, the main export goods are timber, iron core, copper, chronium ore, zinc, silver, gold and oil. South Sudan needs to import food, medicines and chemicals, as well as machinery.
7. Politics The Government of South Sudan was estamblished on January 9, 2005. The National Legislature of South Sudan is the legislature of South Sudan. It consists of the National Legislative Assembly (170 members) and the Council of States. South Sudan has 31 ministers.
